Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD), in a statement, says the informal sector, which has been employing arguably over 80%, is not unionised.
The coalition says that the Zimbabwe Chamber Trade Union (ZCTU), a trade union for the labourers has a huge task to ensure that the sector is protected from unfair labour practices.
“The overall implications of the current macroeconomic framework has been the increase in taxes especially the unpopular 2% tax which was introduced as a revenue collection tool targeting the informal sector where most of the workers are employed,” ZIMCODD says.
“Such a policy instrument disproportionately affects own account workers who constitute 67.2% of economically active Zimbabweans.”
The informal sector has been affected by the current macroeconomic distortions which have literally depleted their disposable incomes according to the Coalition.
“It is a cause for concern that young people aged 15 to 39 years of age constitutes 58.3% of the people employed in the informal sector,” ZIMCODD says.
“These people in the informal sector have been affected by the current macroeconomic distortions which have literally depleted their disposable incomes.”
“These are predominantly involved in communal and resettlement farming and informal trading, the majority of which are women constituting 56.7% compared to 43.3 % for males,” ZIMCODD says.
ZIMCODD also expresses solidarity with the pensioners who worked for this country all their
working lives but whose pensions and savings have been eroded by the currency crisis, inflation
and the attendant high cost of living.
“The market economy promotes labour market flexibility weakening trade unions along the way,as well as promoting the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, for example, it is estimated that in 2018, the richest Zimbabwean’s wealth was worth USD1,4billion1 while the poorest was worth USD2002,” the coalition says.
